


This Is Halloween

by liionne



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: Halloween, Halloweentown AU, M/M, how do some people have so many tags omg
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-10-24
Updated: 2017-10-24
Packaged: 2019-01-22 15:24:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12484748
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/liionne/pseuds/liionne
Summary: He stumbles off the bus, looking around wildly. Everyone is in costume, it seems, and yet, Steve is starting to think that they might not be costumes. A goblin walks down the street and turns into a hardware store, a werewolf runs across the main square chasing after a particularly terrified looking black cat. Steve blinks, and stares. Where the hell is he?





	This Is Halloween

**Author's Note:**

> So this took me about three weeks to write, and it's been about three decades since I've seen Halloweentown, but I've done my best to edit and spell check and things as much as I can - please do let me know if you spot any mistakes that I've missed! Hope you enjoy!

Steve hates Halloween.

His reasons for hating Halloween are twofold: one, he can never find a costume in his size, and though he's pretty good with a needle and thread, the novelty of making your own costume wears off after three years; two, Halloween is an excuse for everyone in the entire goddamn state of New York to wear nothing but their underwear and get drunk. And hey, more power to them, let them wear what they want and get as inebriated as they like, but do they have to be so loud? Shrieking and singing and making out right outside of his building at 3am?

So yeah, Steve hates Halloween.

But there's one good thing about Halloween: Halloween is when Peggy visits.

Steve met Peggy on his year studying abroad in college; he spent a semester in London, and another in Paris, and, funnily enough, didn't meet the _very_  stereotypically British Peggy until he was studying at l'Universite de Paris. Peggy was funny and smart and charming, and the two of them ended up being pretty good friends - Steve was all but distraught when he had to leave Peggy in the summer, but she promised she would be by to visit, at least once a year.

"I love travelling," She had told Steve at the airport, whilst he waited for his flight back to NYC. "I'll come over as often as I can."

As often as she could turned out to be once a year, on Halloween.

For the first few years, Steve found it strange. No matter what day Halloween was on, Peggy was always there, knocking on Steve's door mid-morning, and not going home until well after dark, around 10 or 11pm. He had only ever outright questioned it once or twice, and when he had, Peggy had smiled and shrugged her shoulders and fed him some kind of line that eventually led him to accept things as they were: Peggy visited on Halloween, and she only stayed for the day. Things would never change, on that front.

Still, every time he opens the door and is met with her familiar face, he wishes she could stay the night.

"Peggy!" He grins, throwing open the door to his apartment and wrapping his arms around her in a tight embrace. Peggy laughs softly, wrapping her arms around Steve in turn before pulling back to look at him. "You're thinner." She says, lips pursing in a not uncommon display of motherly criticism. "Are you eating properly?"

"It's nice to see you too." Steve snickers, standing aside so she can enter his home.

Peggy sets her bag down on the couch, followed by her cherry red hat and bright blue coat. It's a style Steve doubts anyone else could carry off, but somehow Peggy manages it, always. She sets her things down with a gentle sigh. "You could have decorated." She points out.

"I told you, I don't do Halloween." Steve says, his head shaking. "I don't know what you see in it."

"It's fun." Peggy says. "And it's magical. And such a good colour scheme."

"Orange, green and purple." Steve retorts, grimacing as he pours them each a cup of coffee. "Yeah, beautiful."

Peggy laughs at that, settling onto the couch alongside her belongings. "So come on, Steve. Catch me up. What have you been up to this past year?"

Steve fills her in on everything, which honestly, isn't much. Since he graduated three years ago his life is very much the same, day in day out, week after week, month after month. He goes to work, he picks up the slack from other people who aren't doing their job properly, and he comes home to his very quiet apartment every night. He's dated a few times, a few different people, but... well, as of yet, no luck.

11pm comes far too quickly. Peggy checks her watch, and sighs softly. "It was wonderful catching up with you, Steve." She says, pulling him into a hug once her coat, hat and bag have all been put back on. "I can't wait for next year."

Again Steve thinks about asking her to stay the night, but he knows better. He gives a small smile, and he nods, squeezing her a little as he hugs her. "Me neither." He murmurs. He lets her go without too much fuss, knowing that she doesn't like it. He watches her get into the elevator, and then he settles back down onto the couch.

Usually after Peggy leaves, Steve goes straight to bed, or he does the dishes from dinner and tries not to feel too sullen. Tonight, though. Tonight he's curious. He goes to the window, peeking through the curtains so that if Peggy looks up, she won't catch him. She stops at a seemingly random spot on the opposite side of the street to his building. There's a flash, a burst of bright white light in the darkness and then, out of nowhere, a bus. It looks just like a school bus, and through the windows Steve watches Peggy get on. Where the hell could she be going?

He has to find out.

He dresses quickly, tugging on a pair of shoes, a scarf, a coat. He grabs his wallet, and his house keys, and then he heads out of the door. He runs as fast he can down the stairs, skittering outside. Thankfully the bus hasn't begun to move, so he sneaks around the back of it, grabbing onto the door handle and peeling the back door open slowly. Thankfully the engine drowns out any creaking, and Steve slips into the back seat of the bus with no fuss at all. No one's even seen him, he's sure of that. At the front of the bus he can see the back of Peggy's head, and so he slumps down in his seat. The last thing he needs is to be spotted.

The bus begins to move after a few more people have gotten on (a skeleton and... Frankenstein? Goddamn _Halloween_ ), rolling away slowly at first and then picking up speed, moving faster and faster until there's another flash of light, bright white and dazzling Steve, for a second. When the spots in front of his eyes finally fade, the bus rolls to a stop in a strange looking town. Well - the town doesn't look strange. The town looks fairly normal, in fact, save for the giant jack o'lantern in the middle of it. Strange. And the people walking around, they look even stranger, like they're all still wearing Halloween costumes, except... It's daytime. Light out, like it's the next day or something.

Steve checks his phone. No signal. The date and time still read as they did at home, so...

People begin to get off the bus, filtering out one by one, and Steve watches as Peggy thanks the driver and goes. He curses softly, standing up and trying to worm his way to the front, so as not to lose her. He knocks into the person dressed as a skeleton from before, his elbow knocking against - bone?

"Hey, watch what you're doing!" The skeleton chatters, and Steve blinks. Jesus Christ. That's a real skeleton.

He stumbles off the bus, looking around wildly. Everyone is in costume, it seems, and yet, Steve is starting to think that they might not be costumes. A goblin walks down the street and turns into a hardware store, a werewolf runs across the main square chasing after a particularly terrified looking black cat. Steve blinks, and stares. Where the hell is he?

Following Peggy. Right.

She's almost gone, her back to Steve as she walks down the street, and takes a left. He follows her, trying to keep a few paces behind her, but when he turns he finds himself faced with a crowd. Shit. The bodies block her out, hide her from him, and after a moment Steve jumps up onto a bench by the side of the road, sending a pair of ravens into flight. He apologises, hastily, for disturbing them, and then looked around.

A flash of cherry red, bobbing a hundred metres or so up ahead.

And he's back on the case.

Steve follows her through the streets until they become a little more winding, more residential. In the end, he hangs back as she pushes open a wrought iron gate, walking the garden path that leads to a large house. Is this--?

"No way." Steve murmurs, watching as Peggy unlocks the door and slips inside.

He scurries up to the first window he comes to, peering into it and finding a - kitchen? It looks like a kitchen. There's a fire in the middle of the room, a pot of the top of it, and around it various jars and containers. He ducks down as Peggy enters the room, and throws something into the bubbling mixture in the pot. She's humming to herself, moving closer to the window as she reaches for a book left out on the counter in front of it. In his haste to duck, Steve manages to whack his head off of the windowsill. "Fuck!" He exclaims, clapping a hand over his mouth, despite the fact that it's just too late.

The window opens with a _whoosh_ , and Steve looks up to see Peggy hanging out of the window. "Steve!?"

Not. Good.

Peggy all but drags him inside by his ear, and sits him at the kitchen table whilst she checks he hasn't given himself a concussion. "How did you get here?" She demands.

"I followed you." Steve murmurs. "On the bus."

Peggy clicks her tongue, but then she sighs. "It was going to happen eventually." She says.

Steve nods. He likes that way of thinking - it keeps him out of trouble. Peggy looks at him for a long moment. "I take it you have a lot of questions."

Again, Steve nods.

"Well they'll have to wait. I've really got no time to waste. James will be here any minute with the Mugwort and when he arrives--"

"The what now?" Steve asks, his eyebrow raising.

Peggy doesn't have time to answer him before there's a knock at the door. "And there he is." She says. She points a stern finger at Steve. "Stay put."

For the third time, Steve nods. Peggy's heels clack against the wooden floor as she goes to the front door, the one she had dragged Steve through give minutes prior. The door opens, and he can only just see what's going on from the half-open door. It's a guy - James, she'd said - and he kisses Peggy's cheek as he enters. Steve narrows his eyes. Peggy has a boyfriend in this strange new world? Why hadn't she told him?

James goes one way, and Peggy another. She stands in front of Steve, and sighs. "I can't take you back home today. This potion, it's time sensitive."

"Potion?" Steve arches an eyebrow.

"Yes, and like I said, it's time sensitive. So you need to stay here, and--"

"Peggy." Steve interrupts, leaning forward. "Peg. _Potion?_ "

"I'm a witch, Steve." Peggy says, as if it's obvious, as if she's stating her nationality, her religion. "I have been for as long as you've known me, and now my apprentice is in my workroom potentially about to ruin my potion, unless I go right now."

Steve stares at her, barely blinking. He doesn't know how long it is. Jeez, maybe that bus ran him over or something. Maybe that's why he's having this crazy fucking dream.

"Can I watch?"

Peggy blinks. That evidently isn't the question she was expecting Steve to follow up with.

After a moment, she sighs. "I don't see why not."

She leads Steve in the direction James had gone in, and the smell hits him right away. Earthy, homely, and yet strange, not in a bad way but in a way that holds his attention. It's the room Steve had been peering into, not Peggy's kitchen but her workroom, apparently. It's dark, lit only by a few candles and the natural light filtering in from the windows, but it's homely, warm. Steve likes it for a lot of reasons, some he can't even put his finger on.

And then her apprentice, James, turns around, and Steve likes the room a lot more.

"Steve, this is James, my apprentice." Peggy introduces them to one another, picking up a handful of herbs and tossing it into the pot in one fluid movement, scattering them evenly over the surface. "James this is Steve, the mortal."

"Mortal." James raises an eyebrow, and then he holds his hand out to Steve. For a second, Steve just looks at it. Are all the humans in this town gorgeous? Maybe they have to be, to make up for the ghouls and goblins and shit.

Steve comes back to his body, and reaches out to shake James' hand. "Call me Bucky." James - Bucky - says. Steve wants to make a comment about that, but he meets those steely grey eyes and the words die in his throat.

"James, stir this, counter clockwise." Peggy instructs, and after a moment's hesitation in which Bucky begins to smile at Steve, he turns away. Steve ends up staring at his back, hoping he'll just turn around again, give Steve a dash of that charming smile or those steely grey eyes, but Peggy shoos him before Bucky can even begin to stir whatever's going on in the pot. Peggy says a few words in a language Steve doesn't know, tosses one more handful of powder into the potion, and watches. Steve watches too, trying not to get too close to the pot but standing on his tiptoes so he can see better, as a figure appears in the bubbling broth. It's a dark face, hidden in shadow, but his bright green eyes shine through. He laughs, the evilest laugh Steve has heard outside of a pantomime, and then the image fades. Peggy takes a deep breath as Bucky leans the spoon against the side of the pot.

"As I thought." She murmurs, her eyes on the potion even though the image has gone. "The worst is yet to come."

"The worst?" Steve asks. "What worst--"

But Peggy is gone, her heels clicking against the floor once more. Bucky sighs softly, and looks to Steve. "People in town have been acting funny and then disappearing. We don't know what's going on, but the mayor doesn't seem to care, so Peggy's looking into it.

"Of course." Steve mutters, crossing his arms over his chest. Such a Peggy thing to do, trying to save the day single handedly. "So we're going to help."

Bucky opens his mouth, thinks better of it, and smiles. " _I'm_  going to help." He says, looking to Steve. " _You_  are going on the first bus back to the mortal world."

"What!?" Steve exclaims. "But you just said she's trying to try to fight this thing, and I'm not letting her do it alone! Anyone who has a bone to pick with Peggy has a bone to pick with me too."

"She won't be alone, she'll have me." Bucky says, setting his hands on Steve's shoulders. Patronising, but also kind of nice. He's close enough that Steve can smell his cologne. "It's dangerous, and for someone like you--"

"Oh, what, just because I'm 5'6 and 100 pounds I'm not cut out for this? I'm too fragile? Listen, buddy--"

Steve's angry, righteous rant is cut off by Bucky, who purses his lips. "I meant a _mortal_. There's a reason our kind and your kind don't mix. It's dangerous for everyone involved."

Before Steve can argue further Peggy returns, and sets down a small sceptre, and a book. She blows dust off the front cover and pulls it open, flicking through until she finds the page she wants. "Okay." She says, jabbing at the book with her finger. Bucky moves to look over her shoulder, so Steve moves too, though he has to look around her more than over her. Damn those heels. "Raven feather, werewolf hair, vampire blood, ghost sweat." Steve grimaces - sounds gross. He doesn't say as much.

"Pretty easy to get raven feathers." Bucky says, looking to Peggy. "What about the rest?"

"We'll go into town, see what we can find." Peggy says. She looks to Steve. "You'll have to come with us, I'm afraid. I'm not sending you back to the mortal world, not until this is over."

"But--" Bucky begins to protest, but Peggy shakes her head.

"The safest place for you is with me." Peggy says to Steve. "So you're going to look after him." She adds, this time to Bucky, who looks momentarily at his shoes but nods, regardless. "Good." Peggy says. "Let’s go."

~*~

It's not so busy in town now, but Steve still feels very, _very_  uncomfortable.

Bucky, in his black leather jacket and his dark jeans, his hair slicked back, fits right in. Peggy stands out from the crowd, contrasting coat and hat setting her apart from the mummies and vampires and whatever the hell else. But, for as long as Steve's known her, Peggy has always stood out from the crowd.

And then there's Steve, who stands out because of just how _human_  he looks, little and pale and wearing his most moth-eaten pair of jeans, shoes that are falling apart, a coat that's just a touch too big. He crosses his arms over his chest and tries to look mysterious.

In the middle of the town is the square, a huge jack-o-lantern type thing sitting in the centre. Whether it’s a permanent feature or just there for Halloween Steve doesn't know, and he certainly doesn't want to find out.

"There have to be some raven feathers around here." Bucky says, stepping off of the path and onto the grass, looking around for some dark feathers against the bright green grass. Peggy begins to search too, but before she can get too into it something catches her eye, and Steve watches as she straightens, and dusts herself off.

"I'll be right back - just some business to attend to." She says, moving off in the direction of a small crowd of people, on the steps of what seems to be a town hall. Steve is distracted by Bucky shouting "a-ha!", turning to Steve and holding up a long, black feather. "Got it." He says.

The way he looks at Steve, triumphant, is so dorky that for a moment, Steve forgets he's talking to a fucking wizard, or whatever Bucky is. A witch's apprentice. Someone cool, and dangerous. That smile is so dorky that Steve can't look away, eventually managing a soft, "Well done" as Bucky puts the feather in a small leather wallet, which he places in a satchel suspended from his shoulder.

"Okay--" Bucky says, looking to the list Peggy had given him. "Werewolf hair, vampire blood, ghost sweat." He looks up, but Steve is still kind of just looking at him, and god he knows he should stop, but he just can't help it. "Oh! There's Hank, come on." He grabs Steve by the wrist, and Steve is happy enough to be dragged along with him. Evidently, whatever qualms Bucky had about bringing a mortal along with him were gone now.

"Hank!" Bucky smiles, turning on the charm as he leans against one of the posts holding up Hank’s shop front. He doesn’t seem too pleased to have him hanging around. "You're looking wonderful today. Done something new with your fur?"

Steve, trying his level best not to outright stare at the fucking _werewolf_  in front of him, sees a familiar flash of red, and turns to look. Peggy stands on the opposite side of the street, still outside of that building, talking to an older guy who Steve assumes is the mayor, from the way he's dressed. He can't hear what they're saying, but the mayor shakes his head, waves his hand and walks off, and Peggy seems to deflate, her jaw working as she watches him go.

And then, before she can spot the two of them, someone else grabs her attention. Steve is distantly aware of Bucky talking in the background, most likely trying to convince his new friend to let him trim a little bit off the sides, but Steve reaches out for him, grabs him by his bicep (his very muscular bicep, might he add), and pulls him around to talk.

"Rumlow." Bucky says quietly, yet almost angrily, his voice almost gravelly as he growls the word. Rumlow talks to Peggy for a moment, seems to tease her, and then the two of them begin to walk off down the street.

"That’s not good, is it?" Steve asks, looking up at Bucky.

Bucky doesn't meet his gaze. "No. It isn't."

~*~

They follow the pair to a rundown movie theatre, and they watch as Rumlow breaks the chains on the door, letting Peggy head inside first. Bucky moves to follow.

"We can't go in there!" Steve hisses. "What if it's a trap?"

"Well, we won't know it if we don't try." Bucky answers, shrugging his shoulders and beginning to cross the street. He stops, turning to look at Steve, who still hasn't exactly moved. "I won't let your little mortal body get crushed, don’t worry about it." Bucky says, and after a moment Steve sighs, beginning to head towards the theatre with Bucky.

Steve mutters something under his breath at Bucky's use of the word "little", but he follows him inside as Bucky begins to climb the steps. They're just in time to see one of the doors swing shut, but Bucky catches it before it can catch, opening it back up slowly to make sure it doesn't creak.

It's freezing inside, and pitch black; Steve wraps his arms around himself, pulling his coat around him tighter, but it doesn't do him much good. It's like all of the warmth has been sucked out of the place - or _is_  being sucked out, in fact, because when Steve looks to the screen it's been replaced by a thick, swirling fog, creating a sort of tunnel. Where it leads Steve doesn't know, and he sure as hell doesn't want to find out.

"Stay here." Bucky whispers, his hand pressed briefly to Steve's chest before he's off, walking down the aisle towards Peggy.

She's stood in the middle of the front row, peering up at the screen - or what was once a screen, he supposes. Her hat has blown off in the gale, dark curls coming undone, and Steve is so distracted by it that he almost doesn't notice when a giant fucking figure appears in the vortex of dark cloud Peggy is staring up at.

Steve, recovering from his heart attack, looks to Bucky. He's crouched down behind one of the seats, peeking over at the two of them. When Steve looks back he can see Peggy's lips moving, can see the shadowy figure with the glowing green eyes talk back, but he can't hear them, the swirling winds too loud in his ears. He's shivering with the cold, teeth chattering, and it only serves to block out the sound even more.

He can't miss the two bright flashes of white light, though. He vaguely hears Bucky shout, and his eyes clock Rumlow as he scurries out of the seat he had taken. And then, Peggy - she's fallen against one of the seats, so Steve can only see the top of her head, and he feels an aching in his chest. Oh, this is bad. This is so bad, this is--

"Show yourself, demon! Show me your face!" Bucky yells over the noise, and Steve wants to groan. Of course he's going and getting himself into trouble. Steve would be getting himself into trouble too, except he's frozen to the floor, part with fear and part with the cold in the room. The demon turns his eyes to Bucky, and Steve finally finds he can move.

He sprints down the aisle, grabbing Bucky by his hand and jerking him backwards, so that he misses the flash of white light the demon tries to hit him with.

"Get off me, Steve!" Bucky spits. "We have to fight him!"

"And we can't do that if we're dead, can we?" Steve shouts, tugging at him again - this time the light, or whatever it may be, bounces off the floor beside their feet. "Come on!"

Steve tugs at him, hard, pulling him back up the aisle and out of the door. He's panting hard, they both are, but before Bucky can start yelling at him - he's about to, Steve can tell - he pushes back into the room, leaving Bucky to follow him if he wishes.

The vortex is gone, and in its place the ragged remains of what was once a screen. It's still freezing, and Steve is still panting as he jogs down the aisle and along the front row to where Peggy is sat, slumped over in a seat.

Her skin is ice cold, pale, and even the colours of her clothes seem drained. Steve crouches down in front of her, tries to shake her shoulders. "Peggy? C'mon, Peg, wake up. Wake up."

She stares ahead, her dark eyes glassy, and Steve's breath hitches in his throat. Bucky moves to his side, and Steve looks up at him, swallowing thickly. "Is she--"

Bucky shakes his head. "She's alive. She's just frozen. They all are." Steve looks up and around and sees a few more bodies, five or six people, who all seem as colourless and lifeless as Peggy. "These are the people who went missing." Bucky says, looking down at Peggy. "He did this."

"He?" Steve asks, blinking a few times and trying to get a grip on himself.

"Whoever that demon is." Bucky says between pursed lips. "Come on. We can't do anything here, we have to finish the potion."

"Potion?" Steve asks again, letting Bucky drag him to his feet.

"Werewolf hair, vampire blood, ghost sweat." Bucky responds, further dragging Steve out of the theatre. "We can't waste any more time, let’s go."

~*~

Steve struggles to keep up to Bucky as he storms out of the cinema and down the street. "I should've known something like this would happen." He hisses, shaking his head. "Peggy told him, she told Pierce that people were disappearing, and he--"

"Pierce?" Steve wheezes. "Wait, who's Pierce?"

"The mayor." Bucky answers, pushing on despite the rattle of Steve's breathing. "The one Peggy walked off to talk to this morning. She's been telling him for weeks that this was something, that it was going to get worse, and _now_ look, it's about as bad as-- are you okay?"

Steve is not okay. He's doubled over, hands on his knees as he tries to take a deep breath, his cheeks a bright scarlet. His chest rattles, and Bucky moves him to a bench by the side of the road, one hand on his back.

"I'm asthmatic." Steve wheezes. "And it's been a big day."

He fumbles for his inhaler, digging it out of his coat pocket and taking a deep a breath as he can muster. He holds the breath, and slowly lets it go. Bucky looks at him like with something between concern and confusion. "I'll be okay." Steve nods. "Tell me about Pierce."

"He's been mayor here for a while. Everyone thinks he's great, but he won't take Peggy seriously. Said she was fear-mongering." He huffs, running his hand through his dark hair. Steve's eyes track the movement. "She's been trying to tell him that something's going on, but he just won't hear it. He says they've just left, that they'll be back, gone to the mortal world. She'd know." He adds, and Steve meets Bucky's gaze for a second.

Peggy must have lived here her entire life. Grown up here, learned to be a... _witch_  here. Jesus. A witch. Steve still isn't sure whether or not he's dreaming.

He must be, because he feels Bucky's hand on his, warm even through his coat. "You okay?" Bucky asks.

Steve looks up at him, and blinks. Bucky's leaning in close, his brow creased with concern, and for a second Steve can only look. But then he remembers Peggy, frozen in that theatre, and he nods. "I'm okay." He says. "Why did he do that to her, though? That demon guy. I mean, all she did was know about him, she didn't even--"

"She has the talisman." Bucky explains, dropping his voice to a whisper. Steve frowns, and so Bucky continues, "Merlin's Talisman. It's a... well, I can show you what it is, but it grants the user unbelievable power. Peggy has it for safe keeping, but that demon wants it for--"

"Evil?" Steve guesses. God, this sounds like some kind of web comic, some kind of trashy TV movie.

Bucky nods gravely. "If we can get the ingredients, put them in the talisman... we should be able to make all this go away." He says, his voice trailing off.

"What are we waiting for?" Steve asks, standing up and dusting himself off. "Werewolf hair, vampire blood, ghost sweat. Right?"

"Right." Bucky agrees, getting to his feet. "Come on - I have a plan."

~*~

Hank McCoy owns the hardware store on Main Street. Steve and Bucky stand on the opposite side of the road, and devise their strategy.

"Okay, so he said no to a voluntary donation." Bucky says. "Which means one of us has to distract him, whilst the other one clips a few hairs from the back of his head."

"Oh, god." Steve groans. He doesn't want to be the one doing the distracting _or_  the snipping. But he'd rather be behind the werewolf than in front of him, so... "What are we clipping him with?"

"He owns a hardware store." Bucky says, as if it's obvious. "There's gotta be at least one pair of scissors in there."

Once again, Steve groans. He hates everything about this.

Bucky leads the way into the hardware store; Hank is standing at the end of one of the aisles, sorting through a huge pile of screws and nails and god knows what (Steve isn't particularly handy, he just calls his super for shit like that). As they pass by one the shelves, Bucky passes Steve a set of scissors, and Steve swallows thickly. He's really going to do this.

"Hank!" Bucky smiles, sidling around the werewolf so that he'll have his back to Steve as he addresses Bucky. Steve doesn't hear what they're saying, his heart pounding in his own ears. He's just not tall enough to reach the back of his head, so instead Steve decides to aim for his tail. Nothing wrong with that, right?

He looks around. There's only one other person in the aisle, stood just behind them, looking at something on the opposite shelf to Steve. She's close enough to wonder what the hell Steve's doing, but thankfully she isn't looking, too concerned with the tins of paint on display. So - with that in mind, Steve reaches out, his hand only shaking a little bit--

He clips some fur from Hank's tail, and manages to nip his tail as well.

He grabs the hairs in his hand and ducks as the werewolf whips around, arms flailing as he goes. Steve, who has been blessedly pulled out of the way by Bucky, manages to stay clear of the claws that scratch across the lady's palms as she raises them to protect herself. It happens in the space of a second, but it's an absolute shit show. Steve, now half hiding behind Bucky, decides to keep quiet.

"Varnae, let me help you up." Bucky says hastily, as Hank makes his apologies. Steve grimaces when he sees blood smear over Bucky's palm as he helps the woman to his feet. He doesn't even seem to notice, but Steve does, and it turns his stomach. Hank ushers Varnae to the back of the store for a little first aid, and Bucky looks to Steve. "Get the vial. Quickly."

Steve frowns, but he fumbles for the little leather wallet Bucky had brought. In it is a glass vial with a cork in the top, and Steve pulls the cork out, holding it out for Bucky. He cups his hand, two fat drops of blood falling from his palm into the vial. "Vampire blood." He says to Steve, grabbing some nearby dust sheets and wiping his hand on one. He sets some money down next to it, and Steve smiles softly.

He holds out his own hand, revealing a small handful of dark brown fur. "Werewolf hair."

"Nice." Bucky breathes, opening the wallet so Steve could place the tuft of hair inside. "And I here I thought you'd mostly ruined everything."

Steve huffs a laugh as they leave the store, his heart still pounding. "Killed two birds with one stone. Now c'mon - ghost sweat. What does that even mean?"

"It means we need a sweaty ghost." Bucky grins. "I know exactly where to go."

~*~

They're in a gym.

Like an honest to god gym. Like a mortal-looking gym, Steve supposes, except that there's a harpy on an elliptical in one corner of the room. Steve decides not to think about it too hard. That's the best strategy for getting through his time here, he thinks.

Bucky leads him past the front desk, where absolutely no one questions their presence, to the bank of treadmills up against the windows. There's only one in use, and for a second Steve thinks it's just running. But then his eyes adjust and he sees the translucent figure through the sunlight, running pretty damn fast, and - sweating, apparently.

"Pietro! Looking good, buddy." Bucky grins, standing on the treadmill next to the ghost. He looks to Steve, holding out a hand to help him up onto it. Steve doesn't even hesitate, but he does note the butterflies that flutter in his stomach when he feels Bucky's hand around his, pulling him upward. "Pietro used to be a runner." Bucky nods to Steve.

"I still am a runner." Pietro snaps. He doesn't even sound out of breath. But then again, Steve supposes, he wouldn't be. "Ghosts can still run, Barnes."

"Sure, sure." Bucky nods. "I need a favour."

Getting straight to business, then. Pietro looks over at them both, and narrows his eyes. "Who's the mortal?"

"Friend of Peggy's. Who is, in fact, the person I'm doing this favour for." Bucky says. "I need some of your sweat."

"Gross." Pietro says, lips curling. Steve, unsurprisingly, agrees. "Why?"

"Potion." Bucky answers.

Pietro sighs, looking to Bucky. "Fine." He says. "You can take some. But I'm not slowing down, and if you put your hand through me Barnes--"

"I'll be real gentle." Bucky promises. He grabs the vial containing the vampire's blood and opens it carefully, leaning in to carefully grab a further two drops of the sweat rolling down Pietro's shoulder.

"You're the best." Bucky grins, hopping down from the treadmill. "C'mon Steve."

"Yeah, yeah, save it. You owe me one!" Pietro calls after them, turning the treadmill up a notch as they go.

"You two were friendly." Steve says, eyebrow arching.

Bucky shrugs. "We used to date."

"What happened?" Steve asks, trying to sound as innocently as is humanly possible.

Bucky looks at Steve like he's mad. "He died." He says, as if it were obvious. "Now c’mon, we have to get back to Peggy's to put this all together."

"And then Peggy will be okay?" Steve asks.

Bucky looks at him for a long moment, his brow creased again. "I hope so."

Well, he was honest, at least.

~*~

Bucky roots around in Peggy's cupboards until he pulls out a strange orb-looking thing attached to an intricate metalwork handle. Bucky evidently knows what it is, because he makes that adorable, triumphant little "a ha!" when he finds it. He turns to Steve, his eyes wide, light dancing in those grey hues. "Go grab the cauldron."

Steve nods, moving across the room to grab the broth they had made with their ingredients. It's a strange browny-green kind of colour, and the smell isn't exactly the best, but Steve does his best to just live with it as he carries the cauldron carefully over to where Bucky is standing. He's removed a small cap from the bottom of what Steve is assuming is the talisman, and he ladles some of their mixture into the bottom of it. He screws the cap back on, and holds the thing upright, looking at it. "Okay." He murmurs. He turns to look at Peggy's book, and grips the talisman's handle with both hands, his eyes closed. Steve isn't sure what he's about to see, but he does step back a pace.

Bucky says the words out loud, his voice clear, despite the words being a total load of gibberish to Steve. He opens his eyes jut as the orb fizzles to life - and then fizzles back out again. "Fuck." Bucky murmurs, and Steve blinks. Apparently cuss words were universal. "I can't do it." Bucky murmurs, more to himself than to Steve. He shakes his head, directly those stormy grey eyes at Steve. "I can't - I'm not powerful enough."

Steve blinks, and then the penny drops. He can't make the talisman work; his powers aren't strong enough. He's Peggy's apprentice, not a warlock in his own right. He isn’t there yet.

But Steve isn't having any of that. Partially because Bucky is there only hope now, but also, really, because he  _is_ powerful enough. He just doesn't know it.

"You can do it." Steve says, taking a step forward. Bucky looks away, rolling his eyes. "Hey," Steve snaps, reaching out to take Bucky's hand, the one that had let go of the talisman in his frustration. He gives it a gentle squeeze, and Bucky looks at him lightning fast. Steve, whose heart leaps a little, just keeps on going. "You _can_  do it. And not because you have to, but because you _are_ powerful enough. You were taught by the best. And this whole time, you've been amazing. You got all those ingredients, you made the potion, you've kept my fragile ass alive for almost an entire day--" Bucky snickers at that, and Steve allows himself a small smile. He lifts Bucky's hand, and places it on the talisman. "Try it again."

Bucky looks at him, somewhat reluctantly, Steve thinks, but he nods. He takes a deep breath, and closes his eyes. This time his voice is even louder, clearer, and even though Steve doesn't know what the words mean they sound like they're special, sacred. As Bucky opens his eyes the orb begins to glow, brighter and brighter until it’s just glowing, energy swirling around inside of it.

"I - I did it." Bucky blinks. He looks to Steve, and grins. "I did it!"

"I told you that you could." Steve grins. He looks from Bucky to the orb and back again. "What do we do with that now? Take it back to Peggy?"

Bucky shakes his head. "No, Peggy always said that to work it would need to be installed."

"Okay," Steve nods. "Then let's go install it."

"I don't know where." Bucky admits, looking almost sheepish despite the serious thinking-face he has on right now.

Steve hums softly, biting his lip as he thinks. He doesn't know anything about any of this stuff, but there has to be something, right? There has to be a clue, something Peggy said or something she left--

"Jack o'lanterns." Steve says, blinking slowly as he begins to realise. Bucky turns to look at him, frowning. "On Halloween, we - mortals - put candles inside pumpkins. Jack o'lanterns. That's a pretty big candle." Steve explains, nodding to the talisman. "I think we need a really big pumpkin."

"The town square." Bucky murmurs, looking at his shoes as he thinks. He looks up at Steve, and reaches out to grab his arm, tugging him towards the door. "Let's go!"

~*~

As they're moving towards the town square, his hand in Bucky's, tugging him along, Steve starts to notice that the crowds are getting thicker. People group together until eventually there are bodies everywhere, and moving between them is hard. Steve looks to Bucky, but all Bucky does is give him an equally perplexed look, shaking his head as he moves towards the pumpkin.

There's a crackle of thunder overhead that stops both of them short, and they turn to look. Over the town hall dark storm clouds have formed, not dissimilar to the ones in the movie theatre. Bucky looks to Steve and sets his jaw, tucking the talisman under his coat. The demon appears from the fog, bright green eyes shining out from under his dark cloak. "People of Halloweentown, listen!" He calls out, and though Steve watches him, he has to take a moment to think that that's kind of a stupid name. He's definitely never heard it before now, because he would have said as much out loud, but that's a stupid ass name.

"- forced into this second-rate world for too long!" The demon shouts, and Steve curses himself for zoning out like that. Bucky's hand, which is still holding his, for some reason, tightens just a little bit as the demon continues. "We must take back our world from the mortals! We must reclaim our place in the world!"

The crowds murmur, a few of them nodding in agreement. Bucky huffs, looking to Steve. "We've gotten get this into the lantern." He says. "We can't let this happen."

"He's going to see you." Steve hisses, shaking his head. "He'll do whatever he did to Peggy, and then--"

"-- we must be free, to be who we truly are!" The crowd begins to gasp, and both Steve and Bucky look up to see the demon lose his hood and his darkened features, glowing green eyes fading as the demon becomes that man Steve had seen Peggy talking to, they mayor--  _Pierce_.

Bucky's eyes widen. "We have to do this. We haven't got time."

"Wait!" Steve murmurs, pulling Bucky back as he tries to move. "I have an idea."

He shrugs out of his coat, and makes Bucky do the same, swapping them round. Bucky's coat is warm, and it smells like him but Steve _cannot_  think about that right now. He pulls the hood up over his head, and nods to Bucky. "You do the same. I'll go in the opposite direction. Go. Go!"

Bucky looks at him, looking strange in Steve's mortal clothes. His eyes scan Steve's face for a moment before he leans down to kiss him, a short, swift kiss that still manages to make Steve's knees weak. "Okay. Be safe." He murmurs.

Steve swallows thickly, watching Bucky go. He has a feeling safe isn't an option.

He starts walking, his head down, desperately trying to look taller. Pierce is still talking, his voice booming over the crowds. "First we must find the one who would stop us! The witch and the warlock who would see us locked up here forever! Carter has already been taken care of--" More murmurs from the crowd, but Steve presses on, cutting a path through them. Pierce laughs. "And Mr. Barnes. Leaving so soon?"

Steve starts walking faster, but not fast enough - something sharp and icy cold hits him in the stomach, sending him falling to the ground. He lands on his back, and the crowd gasp when they realise he isn't who they think he is. Steve looks to Bucky - he's managed to reach the pumpkin and open the top, but now he's looking at Steve, panic etched into his features.

"Go!" Steve croaks. "Go Bucky!"

All eyes turn away from Steve, but he doesn't care. He pushes himself to his front, grunting softly with the exertion. His entire body feels cold, as though he's lying inside a freezer. His toes and fingers have already started going numb, but he watches as Bucky pulls himself up to the open top of the lantern, the talisman in his hand. The last thing Steve sees is a shot of icy blue light striking him in the small of the back, causing him to fall against the side of the pumpkin before his eyes close, and the world fades to black.

~*~

Steve wakes to a hand in his hair, and voices above him.

"Are you sure you're alright? I mean you were frozen, Peggy. Completely frozen."

"I'm fine, stop fussing. Look, he's opening his eyes--"

Steve blinks his eyes open slowly, and looks up to see blue sky, Peggy, and Bucky, both peering down at him. "Hey," Steve croaks.

Peggy grins, and Bucky gives a soft laugh. "Hey yourself." Bucky murmurs.

"You saved the world." Steve murmurs, smiling up at him. He feels warmer now, but still sluggish, and he's glad that someone has his head propped up because he knows he couldn't hold it up himself.

"I saved two worlds, actually." Bucky teases, and Steve coughs a laugh. He tries to sit up, but Peggy presses a hand to his shoulder.

"Just take a minute, Steve." She murmurs, easing him back down. "You're alright. Just take it easy."

"You alright?" Steve asks her, frowning softly.

Peggy rolls her eyes, but she's smiling a bit. "You boys." She laughs, and Bucky laughs too.

There's a slight pause, and Steve swallows thickly, his throat feeling dry. "I gotta go home now?" he asks.

Bucky looks to Peggy, who gives him a strange sort of smile. Bucky looks down at him, and runs his hand through Steve's hair again. "I think you better stay here for a little while longer. Need to keep an eye on the fragile mortal body."

Bucky grins, and Peggy gives a soft laugh, shaking her head. Steve grins, his eyes falling shut. Yeah, he can live with that.

~*~

Steve loves Halloween.

He gets off the bus, narrowly dodging a cab driven by a mummy who _definitely_  can't see as he does so. He chuckles softly, and looks around until his eyes land on a familiar figure, dark hair slicked back and a wild grin on his face.

Steve crosses the road over to where Bucky is stood, and leans up onto his tiptoes to kiss him softly, Bucky's hand settling on the small of his back. "Hey," Steve murmurs.

"Hey yourself." Bucky smiles, kissing him once more for good measure. "How was the journey?"

"As awful as usual." Steve counters, letting Bucky wrap an arm around his shoulders and tuck Steve into his side as they walk. "How's Peggy?"

"She's good." Bucky nods. "She met a guy."

Steve hums softly at that, looking up at Bucky again. "You miss me?" He asks.

Bucky looks down at him softly. "Like hell."

Steve grins, winding an arm around Bucky's waist, leaning against him a little as they walk.

**Author's Note:**

> One week until Halloween! Send any Halloween prompts, questions or comments to [my tumblr](http://liionne.tumblr.com) or leave them below!


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